{"id":4881,"date":"2026-02-20T04:21:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=4881"},"modified":"2026-02-20T04:21:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:21:06","slug":"brokers-of-this-world-and-the-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2026\/02\/20\/brokers-of-this-world-and-the-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Brokers of This World \u2014 and the Next"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Brokers of This World \u2014 and the Next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By Soe Paing Oo (translated and adapted)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foreign employment agencies never go abroad themselves to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They remain comfortably at home, making a business out of sending other people overseas. It is a profitable trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood employer.\u201d \u201cGood salary.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ll live well.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ll eat well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is their familiar sales pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But once you arrive in that foreign land \u2014 whether you struggle, suffer, are exploited, or are left to fend for yourself \u2014 it becomes, quite simply: \u201cNone of my business.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even worse are the illegal cross-border brokers and guides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They warn you that inspections are strict. They demand higher \u201ccarry fees.\u201d They promise safe passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if things go wrong, they abandon you somewhere along a jungle road \u2014 another nameless casualty of desperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then comes the consolation: \u201cAll beings are owners of their karma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet worldly brokers are not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also what one might call \u201cagents of Nirvana\u201d \u2014 preachers who promise paradise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They themselves do not depart for Nirvana. Instead, they collect offerings. They prosper from pulling in these \u201ccarry fees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFive hundred celestial maidens on each side!\u201d \u201cThe luxuries of the gods!\u201d \u201cThe splendor of Sakka!\u201d \u201cThe glory of the Universal Monarch!\u201d \u201cAn immeasurable lifespan in the heavens!\u201d \u201cEndless sensual delights!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This, too, is a well-rehearsed sales pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But once you reach the afterlife \u2014 whatever awaits you there \u2014 whether bliss or emptiness, it again becomes: \u201cNone of my business.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether migrant workers truly prosper abroad is uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But one thing is certain: the broker prospers immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether heavenly realms or Nirvana truly await in the next world is also uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But one thing is certain: for now, some of those preaching paradise have already secured their heaven \u2014 right here on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Editorial Note <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This satire by Soe Paing Oo cuts across two forms of exploitation: the economic trafficking of desperate migrants, and the commercialization of spiritual hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both operate on promises. Both demand fees. Both shift responsibility onto the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The satire\u2019s power lies in its final irony: Heaven, it suggests, is often reached first \u2014 not by the believer, but by the broker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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